Class V Taco- dclb on 37's build/ trip thread

epic
i sent you youtube channel to my personal email from work
to watch later

i take it shes not your daily driver?

 

Awesome. No not my dd but I do drive it around here and there.

 

These pics are from my last trip on the Rubicon this year. This time we went to Buck Island Lake in one day camped out and came back out the next. I have drove past Buck Island Lake to do the whole Trail but I have never turned around and drove from Buck Island to little sluice. It's always interesting to do any section of a trail in reverse and see how the obstacles stack up. Great trip!

 

Yesterday I took another trip to the Rubicon Trail. This trip will probably be my last for the year. This was a great trip in that I set out early morning and did the entire Trail in one day by myself. I know it's not best to be by yourself but it is something I have been preparing for. Also on the Rubicon you're never really alone. There are days that are less busy but the trail always has people. I always come prepared with plenty of tools, spare parts and fluids. I did bring extra food and sleeping bag in case something happened and I needed to stay. I also carry a Garmin which is great for communicating with people back home or for actual emergencies. On harder lines it can be nice to have a spotter but I really like figuring things out for myself and that is what I've been trying to do each trip.
I hit the trail at 7:00 a.m. and got to the end at 3:15 p.m. I did stop few times to stretch my legs and have something to drink I also stopped at Rubicon Springs and went for a swim and food. I got stuck on my sliders three times and figured it out each time except for the end of Big Sluice. I've only ran Big Sluice three times now and I've been stuck at the same spot twice. Earlier this year I went right after Jeepers Jamboree and the Jeepers stack a lot of rocks throughout the trail to try to make it flow easier. Those rocks were gone making the line much harder. I had to use the winch but it was an easy pull. This trip was a little more challenging in that it rained super hard the day before making the trail very slippery and muddy. There were three or four lines that normally I walk right up but I was slipping off the line and having to readjust. I also took on a new obstacle that I had previously bypassed in other trips. All in all one hell of a day trip.

 

The whole thing in one day? Goddamn! I know you're on bigger tires than me, but that longer wheelbase certainly isn't holding you back! Definitely gonna need to run the trail with you next year, since I missed out this year.

The rock obstacle on Big Sluice just below the one in the second photo is what gave me the most trouble when I ran the trail in the opposite direction.

 

Yeah the whole thing! I have been on some pretty slow moving trips so it was really cool to just keep going . It was cool getting to Buck Island about 10:30 a.m. and rolling past people that were just getting going for the day.
We will definitely have to do a trip together! The more I wheel I do wish I had a shorter wheelbase but it is amazing the way this thing fits through the trail. Big sluice is nasty with some of the biggest mandatory rocks that you have to crawl. I have never gone up big sluice but someday I would like to do a trip from loon to the springs and then reverse the whole way out.

 

Hell Hole Trail. I went for just a day trip today. Took me 2 hours 15 minutes on the way in and 2 hours and 25 minutes on the way out. I was cruising pretty good on the way out but got stuck at the biggest and hardest obstacle. I spent about 45 minutes trying to figure it out and stack rocks but ultimately I had to winch my way through. This trail has some cool obstacles and great scenery! The lake level was really low so I was able to drive around near the Ruvicon river. Definitely need to go back and camp out for a night or two.